Silver
by BornOnTheBreakOfDawn
Summary: He wonders why he still kept carrying those precious little parts of her with him. His father gave him the answer he was looking for.


Silver

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Contains some spoilers from Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood and manga (chapter 90) - Rated for language -

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From the slums of Kanama, a small group of people made their way through the woods heading to the City of Central. Not much had been said among them as they were pondering on the events that might take place later that day. After all, it was the day that they had either anticipated or feared – the Promised Day.

The atmosphere was tense and each person in the group could sense it. Anxiety coursed through their veins as they know that anything can and will happen, not only to them but as well as the whole country of Amestris on this day.

As they continued to trek in the woods, a teenage boy with golden hair and eyes strayed a bit far behind his comrades. He seemed to be in deep thought as he tucked his hands inside his pockets. His eyes widened when he felt something metallic and cold in his left pocket. His flesh hand grasped what was inside and held it out in front of him. He smiled, a bit sadly, at the sight of six silver earrings that were still in his possession.

'I wonder why I haven't given these back -'

His thoughts were interrupted by a deep voice coming from someone beside him, "I didn't know you wear earrings, Edward. Funny, I haven't noticed any holes in your ears."

Edward was caught off guard at the sight of the man towering next to him. He must have been too lost in thought and didn't sense his presence. But despite the initial shock, the anger towards the man eventually resurfaced and the young man did nothing to repress it. He tightened his hand around the piece of jewelry and retorted back at the older man, "Can't you just butt out of my business? And who said these are mine, you nosy bastard? Just fuck off!"

The teen pushed the man with enough force to send him to the ground. Edward stormed off, obviously pissed at the man that he would never recognize as his father.

The rest of the group just ignored the exchange. They knew that it was something that they shouldn't get involved with; it was merely trivial compared to the problem they might face later on. Besides, it was something that the father and the son should sort out among themselves.

Hohenheim stood up, dusting his clothes and went to catch up to his son. Despite the heated reaction he got from Ed a few moments ago, he still risked going near him and trying to start a conversation. He knew that this might be one of the few moments he got to be with his son, so he was wise enough not to waste the chance.

As he was about to speak again, a memory crossed his mind. He remembered the time when he was still in Lior and met Alphonse for the first time in years, since he left his family back in Resembool. He also remembered meeting someone else, Pinako's granddaughter and his sons' best friend, Winry Rockbell.

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_"Ah, so you're Urey and Sarah's little girl, Winry? I must say, you're growing up to be more and more like your parents."_

_Hohenheim noticed the sad look that crossed her face for a short moment, but then she immediately masked it with a pretty smile. He sighed, "Uh – I'm sorry. That must have opened an old wound, hasn't it?"_

_Winry shook her head, "No, it's okay. Thank you, though, for the compliment. At least my parents left me something to remember them by whenever I look at myself in the mirror. Even my grandmother and our other neighbours would say something like that to me at times."_

_The older man smiled, "You're as strong as your parents too – if not, you're even stronger. You're young but you've dealt with so much in your life. And despite all that, you still stand your ground and face whatever is thrown your way. You're admirable, Winry. No wonder my boys got stuck with you." Then he laughed. She gave a soft giggle but then fell silent before she spoke up again._

_"Thank you Mr. Hohenheim, but I don't think I'm that strong yet. Well, comparing myself to the brothers, I could say that they're far stronger than me, or anyone else I know. They're as young as I am but they went through a lot of hell when they went on their journey to gain what they've lost. They've sacrificed their childhood, their home, their family and loved ones, and even themselves just to reach their goal. I know that they've left us in the dark from what's happening in their lives, but I soon understood why they did that. They were trying to protect us from whatever evil is out there, even at the cost of their own lives. They're the ones whom I consider admirable and it wasn't them that got stuck with me; it was I that was stubborn enough to stick with them through and through."_

_He was honestly moved by her great trust and friendship with those boys. He had to smile warmly at her words and he went to pat one of her shoulders. Winry was surprised at the action. She never recalled even once in her childhood that Hohenheim gave a friendly or affectionate gesture to either of the brothers or herself. The older man noticed her surprise and chuckled, "My boys are very lucky to have you as their friend. I'm very happy to have met such a great person like you. Thank you for always believing and being there for my sons."_

_She blushed a little while looking away and nervously tucking her hair behind her ear. It was then that Hohenheim noticed something with her ears. She had piercings, but no earrings. This had piqued his curiosity, "I'm sorry, I hope you don't mind me asking, I just couldn't help but notice that you have a lot of holes on your ears but not a single one of them have earrings. Did you stop wearing them?"_

_Winry's face went even redder than before. Hohenheim was interested with her reaction, "I...gave them to someone for safekeeping...and to assure me that he would come back safely and return them to me."_

_"Then the person must be really important to you to trust him that much."_

_She continued blushing but then eventually nodded._

* * *

He was suddenly brought to the present, and noticed Edward was still holding those earrings.

'Could it be - ?'

Hohenheim again stood next to his son, who was staring at those small pieces of jewelry and was in deep thought. He smiled knowingly.

"What do you want?" the boy this time was the one who surprised the older man.

Hohenheim cleared his throat and placed his hands inside his pockets, ready to speak what was in his mind, "Are those earrings yours?"

Edward scowled, "I said it before and I'll say it again. Who said these are mine when obviously they're not! If you keep bothering me with stupid questions, you might as well take a hike!"

But Hohenheim stayed by his son's side, "Perhaps someone gave them to you?"

The boy gave the older man a very annoyed look, "Geez, do you know how pissed I am with your questions? You're really bugging me, just get -" Ed was cut off when his father spoke again.

"You know, I met someone else in Lior besides your brother. She's a really nice girl, both pretty and strong, plus she's very caring most especially for her two best friends."

This had caught Edward's interest. He kept silent and Hohenheim took that as a chance to continue his story, "I truly admire her faith and loyalty for her best friends. To be honest, I was touched by what she said. That she'll stick with those friends of hers through and through."

The teen had to smile at this but he had to keep it to himself. He was pretending to be indifferent to this story and act as if it was nothing to him, "What's the big deal with you sharing all that? It's not as if it has anything to do with me."

The older man smiled. "Maybe it does; maybe it doesn't. I just wanted to share something from my personal experiences during my travels. But what if you happen to be that girl's best friend? Don't you think you'll be happy and be motivated enough to do anything because she has great faith in you? Think about it."

As he was about to leave his son to ponder on his words he mentioned one more thing. "Oh, I almost forgot. I noticed something with her ears. She had a lot of piercings but not even one has an earring. I asked her about it and she said that she gave them to someone for safekeeping, and for assurance that he would come back safely to give them back to her. It seemed that very person was really important to her if she gave something precious as her jewelry and her trust to him. If you were that guy, what would you do?"

The young man didn't speak but it was clear that he was in deep thought. Hohenheim was already walking a little further from the boy before he turned his head a little to look at his son. What he saw brought an even wider smile to his face. Edward brought his hand holding the earrings to his lips, as if kissing them.

The boy thought to himself, 'So there's really a reason why they're still here with me...'

He opened his hand, the silver glinting in the sunlight, making his eyes shine with confidence. Clutching hold of the jewelry and holding his fist against his heart, he whispered, as if she can hear his every word, "Thanks for always believing in me. I'll definitely kick those guys' asses for you and come back in one piece, returning these with Al back in his body. I promise with my life that we'll – I'll come back to you. No matter what it takes."

The older man had to chuckle at this, his son unaware that his father was listening in. With a lighter heart, Hohenheim left with a smile on his face.

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End

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Author's Notes: This had been beta-read and saved in my computer for weeks already but it was only now that I decided to post it. It's like an in-between story, after Ed and the others fought Pride and before they arrived in Central. I hope you enjoyed reading my story and please feel free to leave a review (I especially would like to know if the characters here are a bit OOC or not). Thank you!

Special thanks to Inuchron for beta-reading this story for me. :)

Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist belongs to the great Hiromu Arakawa. I am just a fan who loves to play with her toys from time to time if I feel up to it. :3


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